Wolverines Sweep Host Mays After Miraculous Girls Win

It was another exciting "Two for Tuesday" webcast tonight on GPB.org, as the Miller Grove boys and girls defeated their Mays counterparts at the Corretta Scott King Center in west Atlanta.

The opener was nothing short of a classic. The host Lady Raiders led nearly the entire way, but were undone by poor free throw shooting in the second half. Despite a triple-double from 6-3 center Mariah Dean, Mays fell 53-51.

Dean and company led by 12 on two separate occasions, 22-10 in the second period and 32-20 in the third. But the Grove was sparked by Tashi Thompson's 14 second half points, including four three-pointers, and some tenacious defense, which frustrated Mays in the final period.

A Thompson three drew the Lady Wolverines to within six at the end of the third. From there, Miller Grove weathered an 8-2 run by Mays to make the score 48-39 with four minutes remaining. Then, the Lady Wolverines made a run of their own and trimmed the lead to three after a 7-1 run with just over a minute left.

A Thompson three drew the Grove to within two for the first time since the early moments of the game with just 25 seconds left. Then, Aniefiok Udofia made a three-point play with 11.4 seconds left to give the Wolverines their first lead of the game at 52-51. Mays' Dean then committed a charge on the Lady Raiders final possession and the game ended.

In the loss, Dean tallied a remarkable 13 points, 10 blocks and 14 rebounds. The Lady Raiders also benefited from 19 points by Score 44 member Kristi Ware and 16 by Charnay Sanford.

Miller Grove was led by Thompson's 17 and Klarissa Weaver's 12.

The boys game was not quite as dramatic. Class 4A No. 1 Miller Grove dominated from the start, outclassing the host Raiders 86-63. After one period, the Wolverines held a commanding 25-11 lead.

"On the road it is important to establish your tempo," said Miller Grove head coach Sharman White. "If we feel comfortable in our execution, it helps us play well."

The Wolverines (20-1) must have felt comfortable Tuesday night, as they led the entire way in their blowout win. The Grove led 44-28 at the half and 64-44 at the end of three. Several Wolverines contributed to the win in the stat column, as eight players tallied at least seven points and the leading scorer, Devon Provost, had just 17.

"We know our strengths," said White about his team's depth and balance. "We can have one guy lead in scoring one night and another guy lead the next night. We play to our strengths."

Behind Provost, highly-touted junior center Tony Parker had 13 points and three blocks. Parker is being recruited heavily by Georgia, Florida, Georgia Tech and many other top hoops programs from around the country. Also having solid nights for the Wolverines were Score 44 members Henry Brooks with 10, Christian Houston, Tony Evans, Brandon Morris and Thomas Marshall each with nine while Justin Colvin had seven.

Mays (12-8) was led by "All-Name team" member Arya Strong, who dropped 22 points in the loss. The Raiders also got 14 from Kendall Leslie and nine from Homer Causey.